January 2015

The Energy Saving Trust (EST) Survey has revealed some very interesting statistics in relation to the public’s opinion towards renewable energy such as Solar PV.

It is suggested that almost 50% of all UK householders are actually living in damp and draughty homes, up to a quarter of those people are planning energy efficient solutions within the year. Solar PV Installations ranks above loft and wall insulation for the home, often referred to as an ideal energy efficiency improvement.

The general public opinion also shows that 60% are more willing to buy or rent property that already has microgeneration included, this shows that many people are waking up to the potential of renewable energy saving as an important part of our lives and our futures, the word is finally spreading about the benefits to individuals, to families and to the environment.

In terms of benefits the survey shows 60% would be more interested in installing Solar Panels or Heat Pumps were they to provide financial support for doing so, such as the Feed in Tariff (FiT) and Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) respectively. Unfortunately this statistic along with the fact that 55% of people were unable to identify what the Feed in Tariff was shows us that we are not getting all the information regarding the benefits of renewable energy across to the public. With the massive increase in Solar PV installations over recent years, the more people learn about Solar and its viability, the more installations we’ll see.

Renewable energy is the way forward, Solar Power is an incredible use of a natural resource that provides only positive results the more you use.

The EST Survey also revealed that men and women do not share the same views in regards to renewable energy. Women choosing double glazing as a sufficient measure to take, while men preferring to choose renewable energy as a proactive measure.

Whenever a person decides to have a solar pv system installed at their property, they do so with a particular goal in mind. What that particular goal is more often than not is determined by the individual or household installing the solar pv system. The three most common goals for solar pv customers are reducing electricity bills, reducing their carbon footprint and so becoming “greener” in the process and making a substantial and noticeable return on their investment.

No solar pv installer is naïve enough to dismiss the financial incentives of a solar pv system and appreciate that very often that is the main reason why somebody would choose to have a solar pv system installed on their roof.

The financial aspect of a solar pv system is made up of three parts. The savings a household will make by using self-generated energy as opposed to grid bought energy; the generation tariff which is currently set at 13.88 pence for every unit of electricity generated by the solar pv system and the export tariff which is currently set at 4.77 pence per unit for half of what the solar pv system generates.

It would seem quite logical that anybody installing a solar pv system would want to be able to monitor the performance of the system. Most solar installations come with a generation meter which counts up every time a unit of electricity is produced. There are also more in depth monitoring devices available. One such example is a Geo Green monitoring system. This monitoring system is able to tell the customer exactly how each individual panel is performing. Like an ever increasing number of things, there is even an app for your smart phone so that you can monitor the performance of your solar pv system no matter where you are.

Two large companies heavily involved in the solar industry, ABB a world leading producer of solar inverters and Solar Impulse have teamed up to circumnavigate the globe in a plane running on solar energy alone.

In March 2015 3 Engineers from ABB will join the Solar Impulse team in Abu Dhabi as the plane is getting ready to launch. ABB aim to provide their expertise to maximise efficiency and power output of the project, being on hand to help resolve any problems that might arise.

The flight is going to go around the world with only the energy of the sun to power it, powered by 17,248 solar cells which have been fitted throughout the craft. The total distance will be 40,000 kilometres.

The pilots of this flight have gone through a lot of vigorous training in order to prepare for this, although this flight will be powered by the sun, it will not be unmanned. The story of the pilots looks to be an interesting one as due to the weight restrictions of the plane only one of the two pilots are able to sit in the cockpit at a time, swapping out after a five day piloting session. But that’s not the most interesting part; while the plane is airborne the pilots are only allowed 20 minutes of sleep at one time, to combat this the pilots have been learning to meditate as a viable means of sustaining themselves throughout the journey.

The flight will be monitored on the ground at all times of course, all the relevant recordings will be checked and re-checked, a lot of the information will be regarding the welfare of the pilots and how the plane is doing, whether it can absorb enough sunlight each day, whether it utilises the power efficiently, and what improvements can be made in the future.

So it’s clear that the government aren’t 100% behind more ground mounted solar farms with the reveal that they plan to cut in half the subsidies received for ground mounted solar farms in favour of roof mounted and community-owned projects. The DECC’s reservations about the increase in ground mounted solar farms are centred around the budget from the Renewable Obligation (RO) regime allocated for the projects, and with the increase in popularity of the solar farms, the fact is that the budget would be exceeded before long.

The focus is now around roof mounted and community-owned solar projects. The UK’s target for 2020 is between 10 and 12 GW installed solar capacity, showing less incentive for the ground mounted solar farms, this could lead to concerns regarding the viability of succeeding with that goal. DECC remain confident however that the expected rush of installations over the next year will get the UK up to 4 GW by next April, and with that projection, 10-12 GW by 2020 is certainly realistic.

In the effort to inspire more roof mounted systems, a new idea has emerged surrounding unused space, carports. Carports seem so far to have been largely overlooked as a viable use of roof mounted solar systems; the benefits are plenty, for example changing the look of a dull grey empty space into a multi-use structure that serves a significant purpose by generating renewable energy for the adjoining building. Also perhaps an opportunity to improve customer experience, as the PV system installed is not just there to generate renewable energy, a broader view of the situation shows the solar installation would provide shelter for themselves and their vehicle.

Carport PV Installation is not exactly the same as roof mounted PV installations however, as a different set of skills will be required to get the job done, experience with foundations, steelwork and even underground services.

Growatt is a newly established company founded in May 2010, despite this they have reached up to 1GW installs worldwide; they are also trading worldwide with the best seller being the USA. Growatt are known for their outstanding efficiency and basically great value for your money photovoltaic inverters, as solar inverters are the main focus and the only product being produced by Growatt up to now lots of time and money is being invested to upgrade products frequently and keep up to date with the new technologies.

There are a great range of inverters to choose from, from a small scale domestic installation to a larger commercial building Growatt have an inverter to suit all needs. Starting from 1 KW and going all the way up to a massive 1 MW Growatt really have covered all areas and have even been awarded after photon tests, there is also a smart monitoring system which can also be used for both types of installs

Many case studies have been carried out; there are currently four utility plants three based in China and one in Germany, one main commercial building which is situated in Belgium and finally one domestic (residential) project which is a 5KW home project in Australia.

In the few years that Growatt have been established they have acquired quite a few partners who distribute their stock.

The vision of the company is to be the world’s first class photo static inverter manufacturer, and to make photovoltaic systems easily accessible to everybody. As a company, GroWatts mission is to keep producing the best performance and low cost solar inverters and to make the whole world more efficient. Finally the core value is customers first; the customer is always the most important, and just to keep the high standard that they are producing at the minute.

The RO (Renewable Obligation) scheme is getting a change in the first quarter of 2015, the plans from DECC (Department of Energy & Climate Change) are going to result in the RO scheme being transitioned to CfD (Contracts for Difference), this change with affect PV installations of 5MW and above;

“The Renewables Obligation (RO) was introduced in 2002 to provide incentives for the deployment of large-scale renewable electricity in the UK.

The RO requires licensed UK electricity suppliers to source a specified proportion of the electricity they provide to customers from eligible renewable sources. This proportion (known as the ‘obligation’) is set each year and has increased annually.”– [Source]

Instead of relying on important contractual documentation developers will be required to assess their own suite of documents.

The CfD is basically; “payments will be made to generators by reference to the difference between a fixed notional price (the strike price) and the referenced electricity sale price (the reference price). Where the strike price is higher than the electricity price, the CfD counterparty is contractually obliged to pay the difference to the generator. Where the reference price is higher than the strike price however, (i.e. the price of electricity is greater than anticipated), the generator is obliged to pay the difference to the CfD counterparty.” – [Source]

Both schemes will still be open for applications for new renewable generating capacity, the plans for a complete closure of the RO are currently set for 31 March 2017.

There is no clear ‘better’ choice as each come with their own risk / rewards, for the time being we will have the option to choose and weigh the pros and cons against future projects of PV installations over 5MW. Without going into too much detail, potential questions regarding the difference between the two schemes include:

A Health Centre in Exeter has had solar panels fitted to its roof to reduce their high energy bills. The busy medical practice opted for the system to tackle its large energy usage. In the spirit of the centre’s continued commitment to the public, its management says it was keen to look at ways to reduce its carbon footprint.

The practice now proudly displays a 10kW solar PV system on its roof, which is being used to provide power for the centre’s lighting, IT infrastructure and specialist equipment such as ECG machines. As the centre uses its electricity throughout the day – when the sun is shining – it uses the majority of the energy that the system generates, rather than having to export it back to the grid.

The installation should generate enough solar energy each year to power the equivalent of five homes. With a payback period of just seven years the investment offers a substantial return.

Practice manager, Julie Croze, said: “Not knowing anything about solar energy, the terminology was daunting, but everything was explained so clearly. If you have the space why not capitalise on it. It really is first class, looks great and has been installed in such a neat and tidy way.”

Rising numbers of health centres are looking to solar PV to reduce their overheads and bring in additional income. Systems are now able to achieve a 20 percent return on investment which means systems are being paid off in as little as five years and the additional income can be used to help with general running costs of the property.

Many more properties can take advantage of this, with heavy daytime usage of electricity; the generated energy can be better spent within the business for upkeep costs, rather than being exported to the grid.

Growatt New Energy Co Ltd is a solar pv company that focuses exclusively on solar pv inverters. They were established in May of 2010 and have been partly responsible for over 1 GW of solar pv installations worldwide.

The beginnings of Growatt New Energy Co Ltd came from a Research and Development team who had been involved in the solar pv industry for 10 years. This team was made up of more than 100 engineers which accounted for over 40 per cent of the staff employed by Growatt New Energy Co Ltd.

Growatt New Energy Co Ltd have a substantial range of solar pv inverters for anybody considering investing in a solar pv installation. Obviously which inverter is ultimately used depends on the size of the system and the layout of the solar pv installation. The selection of inverters on offer from Growatt New Energy Co Ltd ranges from 1 KW to 1 MW. Growatt New Energy Co Ltd offers solar pv inverters in both single string and dual tracker format. This means that the inverters they offer are suitable for both solar pv installation that are installed upon just the one single aspect of a customer’s roof and also are suitable for solar pv installations that are installed upon two aspects of a customer’s roof. A typical example of such a solar pv installation that would require a dual tracker inverter would be when the installation in question is being installed on a property that has an east and west facing section of roof space.

It is now common knowledge that there are a wide range of companies producing solar pv inverter. It is accepted throughout the industry that the inverter is an integral part of any solar pv installation. It looks like Growatt New Energy Co Ltd are going to be a major player in the solar pv inverter game.

The Solar Energy show has now been up and runny for five years getting bigger and bigger every time, with a growing number of visitors there are a growing number or exhibitors. Held at the NEC situated in Birmingham the Solar show opened its doors to over 2400 people last year with more expected this time. The exhibitors which feature all the latest technology range from a small scale domestic property to a large utility scale so there is something for everyone.

A new area has been set up called the Installer Central where all different job types whether you are a roofer plumber or electrician thinking of integrating solar into your business can have a go and some practical demonstrations.

The three-day exhibition will be opened up with a theatre-style theme; it is free entry which will also allow visitors to get involved in all discussions ranging from practical work to the financial side of the solar business.

Solar Energy UK are aiming to launch a new co-located exhibition because of how many companies delving into the Solar business, this will simply be for starter companies lots of help and information on generation, transmission and storage of solar energy in the UK.

A major part of the day will be where Next Energy UK do a showcase never seen before using the newest breakthrough technology some of this includes; solar thermal, micro-generation and energy efficiency.

For the second year running the Solar Power Portal Awards will be held in the Hilton NEC Metropole, this event will be sponsored by the fantastic Natural Sparx and the event will be hosted by Kate Humble. There is also a new category up for grabs which is Installer of the year, this prestigious event will be held on the first night of the three-day Solar energy show.

Fronius International is a long standing well established company which has been running for 60 years, which like a lot of other large companies has delved into solar, as the company’s drive is already focused on energy this was the perfect venture for them to make. The company originated in Pattenbach- Austria and began with the production of battery chargers and welding transformers.

The first solar grid connected inverter was produced in 1995 called ‘Sunrise’, in 1997 Fronius won the award Innovation prize of the Province of Upper Austria award for the Sunrise Solar inverter.

In 1998 their second inverter was introduced to the public, although this was specifically made for a stand-alone Solar unit it was the first-anywhere that the until and the charge controller actually worked together as they should, an Innovation prize of the Province of Upper Austria was also won for this unit the year after.

In 2001 the most popular of the Fronius grid connected inverters was produced, the ‘Fronius IG’ had many features such as its incredibly low weight, the fact it was compatible with many of the photovoltaic modules and the new feature of data communication via plug-in cards. This inverter was made specifically based on the domestic clients’ needs with many new features and a good low price. As with the previous this also won an award, ‘The environment prize of the Province of Upper Austria’.

By 2001 the company was growing much bigger far more quickly, and a brand new huge facility was opened where the company first originated- Pattenbach.

2004 was a very good year for Fronius the production maximised from 70MW to a massive 200MW! Also a big step which was getting the grid connected inverters certified to sell in the USA.

By 2013 Fronius had moved on immensely in the Solar Electronics department, improving technology day by day now their focus was on marketing and keeping their high standards and spreading the words of their motto ‘Why do we love a challenge?Because challenges breed innovation.’